Measurement of task delegations among nurses by nominal group process analysis

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Task delegation is crucial for efficient nursing operations.
• Understanding current delegation practices is essential for optimizing workflow and patient care.
• Existing methods for analyzing task delegation may not fully capture the nuances of nursing activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically measure task delegation rates among different nursing skill levels: Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Nursing Assistants (NAs).
• To compare actual task delegation rates with established hospital policies.
• To analyze variations in task delegation across different nursing units within a hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• Employed a nursing activity analysis approach.
• Utilized Nominal Group Process and specially designed questionnaires, moving beyond traditional time study and work sampling.
• Included approximately 100 nurses from a 193-bed short-term general hospital.

Main Results:

• Quantified task delegation rates across RNs, LPNs, and NAs.
• Identified discrepancies or alignments between observed delegation practices and hospital policy.
• Highlighted differences in task delegation patterns among various nursing units.

Conclusions:

• The study provides empirical data on nursing task delegation.
• Findings can inform adjustments to hospital policies and unit-specific workflows for improved efficiency.
• The novel methodology offers a robust approach for future nursing activity analysis.